Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson return for new Hunger Games movie - and fans are losing it

Huge news for Hunger Games fans as Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson are set to reprise their roles as Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark in the upcoming prequel film The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping.

The two actors played the protagonists in the original film franchise - The Hunger Games (2012), The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013), The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014), and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 (2015).

As for their roles in Sunrise on the Reaping, no further details have yet been shared about this, but they will most likely appear in a flash-forward, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

We last saw Katniss and Peeta at the end of Mockingjay - Part 2, where they got their happy ending as they settled down, got married and had children after surviving the Hunger Games and rebellion.

(L-R) Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen and Josh Hutcherson as Peeta MellarkMurray Close/Lionsgate

Here is everything you need to know about the highly anticipated prequel:

What is the plot of Sunrise on the Reaping?

Based on the book of the same name by Suzanne Collins, this marks the second prequel following the release of The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes in 2023, starring Rachel Zegler and Tom Blyth, adapted from the 2020 book.

*Spoilers ahead if you haven't read the books*

The film centres around a young Haymitch Abernathy (Joseph Zada), who is a District 12 mentor to Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mallark in the original Hunger Games franchise (played by Woody Harrelson in the films).

Sunrise on the Reaping is set 24 years before the events of the original films - specifically, on the morning of the reaping of the 50th Hunger Games, also known as the Second Quarter Quell- and in the trailer, we see the young Haymitch compete in the deadly games.

This year is particularly brutal since for the Second Quarter Quell (the Quarter Quell happens every 25 years), the districts are required to send double the tributes to the Games, with 48 in total competing for their lives.

At the end, Harrelson's voice can be heard saying, "I think these games are gonna be different."

In the Sunrise on the Reaping book, Katniss and Peeta make an appearance in the epilogue, which takes place after the events of the original trilogy. This is when Haymitch begins to open up to them about his past, and they also help him with raising geese in Lenore Dove's memory.

The final scene of Katniss and Peeta in the original Hunger Games filmsYouTube/The Hunger Games

Who else is cast in the film?

Along with Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson returning as Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, the cast also includes:

• Joseph Zada as young Haymitch, who was previously played by Woody Harrelson,
• Elle Fanning as a young Effie Trinket, who was originally played by Elizabeth Banks,
• Ralph Fiennes plays President Coriolanus Snow, previously portrayed by Donald Sutherland in the original films and Tom Blyth in the “Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” prequel.
• Jesse Plemons as a young Plutarch Heavensbee, played by Philip Seymour Hoffman inCatching Fire and the two Mockingjay films.
• Kieran Culkin as a young Caesar Flickerman, the TV host of the Hunger Games, played by Stanley Tucci in the original films.
• Kelvin Harrison Jr. as a young Beetee Latier, played by Jeffrey Wright in Catching Fire and the two Mockingjay films.
• Maya Hawke, as a young Wiress, played by Amanda Plummer in Catching Fire.
• Other cast members include: Whitney Peak as Lenore Dove Baird, Glenn Close as Drusilla Sickle, Mckenna Grace as Maysilee Donner, Billy Porter as Magno Stift, Ben Wang as Wyatt Callow, Molly McCann as Louella McCoy, Iona Bell as Lou Lou and Percy Daggs IV as Ampert Latier.

Social media reacts to Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson reprising their roles as Katniss and Peeta

Since the news was announced that Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson will be reprising their roles as Katniss and Peeta, it's fair to say fans were over the moon that their favourite characters are coming back to the big screen next year.

One person said, "The concept of seeing Peeta Mellark and Katniss Everdeen again on the big screen in 2026."

"PEENISS IS BACKK PEENISS IS BACK PEENISS IS BACK PEENISS IS BACK," a second person wrote.

A third person added, "Everlark on my screen again in 2026 I can’t believe this is my life."

"This is the type of fanservice I can get behind," a fourth person commented.

Another person shared, "Huge day for insane people like me."

"WE WANT WOODY HARRELSON AND ELIZABETH BANKS RETURNING AS HAYMITCH AND EFFIE AS WELL," someone else posted.

One user said, "When actors still love movies that made them famous instead of being embarrassed by them >>>"

"For non Hunger Games fans, this is like Rihanna returning to music," a second said.

A fan noted, "For non Hunger Games fans, this is basically Jesus returning to Earth."

When is the release date for Sunrise on the Reaping?

Fans have just under a year to wait as The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping is out in cinemas on November, 20 2026.

Elsewhere from Indy100, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping: First look at trailer, Why we're all back in our 'Hunger Games' era.

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